No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Manifesting a Shift in the “Overton Window”: The Threat of Project 2025 on the LGBTQ+ Community in Higher Education
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2025
Abstract
Since the first Trump administration, historically marginalized groups in the United States have been subjected to greater instances of bigotry and discrimination due to conservative influence on sociopolitical institutions. These actions suggest a shift in the “Overton Window,” whereby policy preferences previously deemed “unacceptable” are given consideration in the mainstream, especially by conservative policy actors. “Project 2025” is a comprehensive plan to restructure the federal government according to conservative dictates in the second Trump administration. This article is an examination of how higher education may be impacted by this plan, especially as it relates to LGBTQ+1 faculty, administration, staff, and students.
- Type
- Article
- Information
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Political Science Association
References
REFERENCES
Aberbach, Joel D., Peterson, Mark A., and Quirk, Paul J.. 2007. “The Contemporary Presidency: Who Wants Presidential Supremacy? Findings from the Institutions of American Democracy Project.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 37 (3): 515–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Association of University Professors. 2016. “The History, Uses, and Abuses of Title IX.” In Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors (2010–), (102):69–99. Washington, DC: American Association of University Professors. www.jstor.org/stable/44648664.Google Scholar
Arenas, Alberto, Gunckel, Kristin L., and Smith, William L.. 2016. “7 Reasons for Accommodating Transgender Students at School.” The Phi Delta Kappan 98 (1): 20–24. www.jstor.org/stable/24893302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asencio, Marysol. 2011. “‘Locas,’ Respect, and Masculinity: Gender Conformity in Migrant Puerto Rican Gay Masculinities.” Gender and Society 25 (3): 335–54. www.jstor.org/stable/23044152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barounis, Cynthia. 2017. “‘Not the Usual Pattern’: James Baldwin, Homosexuality, and the DSM.” Criticism 59 (3): 395–415. https://doi.org/10.13110/criticism.59.3.0395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berlant, Lauren. 1995. “Live Sex Acts (Parental Advisory: Explicit Material).” Feminist Studies 21 (2): 379–404. https://doi.org/10.2307/3178273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, Candis E. 2017. “Catcalling and the College Classroom: A Model for Teaching Students about Street Harassment.” Feminist Teacher 27 (2–3): 211–32. https://doi.org/10.5406/femteacher.27.2-3.0211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calabresi, Steven G., and Rhodes, Kevin H.. 1992. “The Structural Constitution: Unitary Executive, Plural Judiciary.” Harvard Law Review 105 (6): 1153–216. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corbat, Josh. 2017. “When Laws Solve Problems That Do Not Exist: Transgender Rights in the Nation’s Schools.” The High School Journal 100 (2): 85–87. www.jstor.org/stable/90000749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cragun, Ryan T., Sumerau, J. E., and Williams, Emily. 2015. “From Sodomy to Sympathy: LDS Elites’ Discursive Construction of Homosexuality Over Time.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 54 (2): 291–310. www.jstor.org/stable/24644342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cronin, Anne M. 2015. “Gendering Friendship: Couple Culture, Heteronormativity and the Production of Gender.” Sociology 49 (6): 1167–82. www.jstor.org/stable/44016778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Boer, Connie. 1978. “The Polls: Attitudes Toward Homosexuality.” Public Opinion Quarterly 42 (2): 265–76. www.jstor.org/stable/2748395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deeb-Sossa, Natalia, and Kane, Heather. 2007. “‘It’s the Word of God’: Students’ Resistance to Questioning and Overcoming Heterosexism.” Feminist Teacher 17 (2): 151–69. www.jstor.org/stable/40546017.Google Scholar
Eeden-Moorefield, Brad van, Martell, Christopher R., Williams, Mark, and Preston, Marilyn. 2011. “Same-Sex Relationships and Dissolution: The Connection Between Heteronormativity and Homonormativity.” Family Relations 60 (5): 562–71. www.jstor.org/stable/41403626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, Philip. 2024. “The Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Isn’t Over. Far From It.” Time Magazine, March 14. https://time.com/6899864/same-sex-marriage-supreme-court-biden-trump.Google Scholar
Ericksen, Robert P. 2019. “Stereotypes, Politics, and Religion in the American Bible Belt, 1960–2019.” Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte 32 (2): 242–63. www.jstor.org/stable/26939926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrand, Max (ed.). 1911. Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (Volume 1 ). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/farrand-the-records-of-the-federal-convention-of-1787-vol-1.Google Scholar
Funk, Michael Sean. 2018. “Creating Inclusive Classrooms as an Imperative for Historically Underrepresented Groups in Higher Education.” Counterpoints 517:181–93. www.jstor.org/stable/45178165.Google Scholar
Gallagher, John. 2023. “Out and About.” Washington, DC: NAFSA: Association of International Educators. www.nafsa.org/ie-magazine/2023/8/14/out-and-about#:~:text=A%202020%20survey%20of%20180%2C000,transgender%2C%20nonbinary%2C%20or%20questioning.Google Scholar
Gostin, Lawrence O. 2009. “At Law: Government and Science: The Unitary Executive versus Freedom of Scientific Inquiry.” The Hastings Center Report 39 (2): 11–12. www.jstor.org/stable/25548365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, Kristina. 2015. “Compulsory Sexuality: Evaluating an Emerging Concept.” Signs 41 (1): 131–54. https://doi.org/10.1086/681774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gushee, David P. 2015. “Reconciling Evangelical Christianity with Our Sexual Minorities: Reframing the Biblical Discussion.” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 35 (2): 141–58. www.jstor.org/stable/24615214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, Brett. 2018. “Free to Be Me.” CrossCurrents 68 (4): 488–99. www.jstor.org/stable/26756880.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herek, Gregory M. 2010. “Sexual Orientation Differences as Deficits: Science and Stigma in the History of American Psychology.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 5 (6): 693–99. www.jstor.org/stable/41613587.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heritage Foundation. Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise. 2023. Washington, DC. https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdfGoogle Scholar
Hibbs, Douglas A. 1982. “President Reagan’s Mandate from the 1980 Elections: A Shift to the Right?” American Politics Quarterly 10 (4): 387–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/004478082010004001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsieh, Ning, and Shuster, Stef M.. 2021. “Health and Health Care of Sexual and Gender Minorities.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 62 (3): 318–33. www.jstor.org/stable/48635316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, Sandy E., Herman, Jody L., Rankin, Susan, Keisling, Mara, Mottet, Lisa, and Anaf, Ma’ayan. 2016. “The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.” Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.Google Scholar
Jones, Philip Edward, Brewer, Paul R., Young, Dannagal G., Lambe, Jennifer L., and Hoffman, Lindsay H.. 2018. “Explaining Public Opinion Toward Transgender People, Rights, and Candidates.” Public Opinion Quarterly 82 (2): 252–78. www.jstor.org/stable/26801788.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katyal, Sonia K. 2017. “The ‘Numerus Clausus’ of Sex.” University of Chicago Law Review 84 (1): 389–494. www.jstor.org/stable/44211837.Google Scholar
Kearns, Laura-Lee, Mitton-Kükner, Jennifer, and Tompkins, Joanne. 2014. “LGBTQ Awareness and Allies: Building Capacity in a Bachelor of Education Program.” Canadian Journal of Education/Revue Canadienne de l’éducation 37 (4): 1–26. www.jstor.org/stable/canajeducrevucan.37.4.13.Google Scholar
Kearns, Laura-Lee, Mitton-Kükner, Jennifer, and Tompkins, Joanne. 2017. “Transphobia and Cisgender Privilege: Pre-Service Teachers Recognizing and Challenging Gender Rigidity in Schools.” Canadian Journal of Education/Revue Canadienne de l’éducation 40 (1): 1–27. www.jstor.org/stable/90002337.Google Scholar
Keating, Dan, Blanco, Adrián, and Hawkins, Derek. 2024. “What the Early Primaries Tell Us About Trump’s Changing Base.” Washington Post, February 29. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/trump-voters-demographics-shift.Google Scholar
Kimmel, Adele P. 2016. “Title IX: An Imperfect but Vital Tool to Stop Bullying of LGBT Students.” Yale Law Journal 125 (7): 2006–36. www.jstor.org/stable/43894514.Google Scholar
King, Athena M. 2023. “Let’s Retire the Term ‘Fit’: Strategies to Improve Faculty Heterogeneity.” PS: Political Science & Politics 56 (1): 118–22. doi:10.1017/S1049096522000853.Google Scholar
Lamont, Ellen, Roach, Teresa, and Kahn, Sope. 2018. “Navigating Campus Hookup Culture: LGBTQ Students and College Hookups.” Sociological Forum 33 (4): 1000–1022. www.jstor.org/stable/26626021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauricella, Shauna K., Phillips, Russell E., and Dubow, Eric F.. 2017. “Religious Coping with Sexual Stigma in Young Adults with Same-Sex Attractions.” Journal of Religion and Health 56 (4): 1436–49. www.jstor.org/stable/26749132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Legislative Attacks on LGBTQ Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU], 2024. https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2024Google Scholar
Lenning, Emily. 2017. “Unapologetically Queer in Unapologetically Black Spaces: Creating an Inclusive HBCU Campus.” Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 39:283–93. www.jstor.org/stable/90007885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewin, Simon, and Meyer, Ilan H.. 2002. “Torture and Ill Treatment Based on Sexual Identity: The Roles and Responsibilities of Health Professionals and Their Institutions.” Health and Human Rights 6 (1): 161–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/4065319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, Daniel C., Flores, Andrew R., Haider-Markel, Donald P., Miller, Patrick R., Tadlock, Barry L., and Taylor, Jami K.. 2017. “Degrees of Acceptance: Variation in Public Attitudes toward Segments of the LGBT Community.” Political Research Quarterly 70 (4): 861–75. www.jstor.org/stable/26384822.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, Karin A. 2009. “Normalizing Heterosexuality: Mothers’ Assumptions, Talk, and Strategies with Young Children.” American Sociological Review 74 (2): 190–207. www.jstor.org/stable/27736057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPherson, Lionel K. 2011. “The Instability of ‘Executive Discretion.’” Nomos 50:144–55. www.jstor.org/stable/24220111.Google Scholar
McWayne, Janis, Green, Jennifer, Miller, Ben, Porter, Matthew, Poston, Clay, Sanchez, Gilberto, Turner, Kimberly, and Rivers, Jeremy. 2010. “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Disparities, and President Obama’s Commitment for Change in Health Care.” Race, Gender & Class 17 (3/4): 272–87. www.jstor.org/stable/41674765.Google Scholar
Movement Advancement Project. “Equality Maps: Bans on Transgender People’s Use of Public Bathrooms & Facilities According to Their Gender Identity.” www.mapresearch.org/equalitymaps/nondiscrimination/bathroom_bans.Google Scholar
Nteta, Tatishe & University of Massachusetts-Amherst (August 5, 2024) Project 2025 National Poll. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Paris, Francesca. 2023. “See the States That Have Passed Laws Aimed at Young Trans People.” New York Times, June 5. www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/upshot/trans-laws-republicans-states.html.Google Scholar
Pennell, Summer Melody. 2017. “Training Secondary Teachers to Support LGBTQ+ Students: Practical Applications from Theory and Research.” The High School Journal 101 (1): 62–72. www.jstor.org/stable/90024226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pizer, Jennifer C. 2017. “Religious Freedom and LGBT Rights Continue to Coexist.” GPSolo 34 (1): 16–21. www.jstor.org/stable/26425787.Google Scholar
Redfield, Elana, Conron, Kerith J., and Mallory, Christy. 2024. “The Impact of 2024 Anti-Transgender Legislation on Youth.” Los Angeles: The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. www.jstor.org/stable/resrep59312.Google Scholar
Redfield, Elana, Conron, Kerith J., Tentindo, Will, and Browning, Erica. 2023. “What Is Gender-Affirming Care? Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Youth.” Los Angeles: The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. www.jstor.org/stable/resrep48703.5.Google Scholar
Reisner, Sari L., Hughto, Jaclyn M. White, Dunham, Emilia E., Heflin, Katherine J., Begenyi, Jesse Blue Glass, Coffey-Esquivel, Julia, and Cahill, Sean. 2015. “Legal Protections in Public Accommodations Settings: A Critical Public Health Issue for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming People.” The Milbank Quarterly 93 (3): 484–515. www.jstor.org/stable/24616404.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ripley, Matthew, Anderson, Eric, McCormack, Mark, and Rockett, Ben. 2012. “Heteronormativity in the University Classroom: Novelty Attachment and Content Substitution among Gay-Friendly Students.” Sociology of Education 85 (2): 121–30. www.jstor.org/stable/41507153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roseneil, Sasha, Crowhurst, Isabel, Hellesund, Tone, Santos, Ana Cristina, and Stoilova, Mariya. 2020. “Questioning the Couple-Form.” In The Tenacity of the Couple-Norm: Intimate Citizenship Regimes in a Changing Europe, 6–14. London: UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13xpsd5.6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudalevige, Andrew. 2012. “The Contemporary Presidency: Executive Orders and Presidential Unilateralism.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 42 (1): 138–60. www.jstor.org/stable/41427453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savage, Charlie, Haberman, Maggie, Swan, Jonathan, and Gold, Michael. 2024. “Trump Steps Up Threats to Imprison Those He Sees as Foes.” New York Times, September 9. www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/us/politics/trump-prison-threats-opponents.html.Google Scholar
Schattschneider, Elmer Eric. 1942. Party Government. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.Google Scholar
Schier, Steven E. 2011. “The Contemporary Presidency: The Presidential Authority Problem and the Political Power Trap.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 41 (4): 793–808. www.jstor.org/stable/23884798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schilt, Kristen. 2006. “Just One of the Guys? How Transmen Make Gender Visible at Work.” Gender and Society 20 (4): 465–90. www.jstor.org/stable/27640905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schilt, Kristen, and Westbrook, Laurel. 2015. “Bathroom Battlegrounds and Penis Panics.” Contexts 14 (3): 26–31. www.jstor.org/stable/24710366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlesinger, Arthur M. 1951. “Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System: A Report of the Committee on Political Parties” (supplement to American Political Science Review 274 (1): xi, 99. Washington, DC: American Political Science Association, and New York: Rinehart & Company. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271625127400147.Google Scholar
Sharrow, Elizabeth A. 2021. “Sports, Transgender Rights and the Bodily Politics of Cisgender Supremacy.” Laws 10 (3): 63. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws10030063.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stryer, Trinity Stone. n.d. Sexual Orientation, Microaggressions, and Gender Conformity at Guilford College. Greensboro, NC. Accessed September 10, 2024. https://jstor.org/stable/community.36737521.Google Scholar
Venegas, Natalie. 2024. “Project 2025’s Unpopularity Continues to Grow: New Poll.” Newsweek, September 22. www.newsweek.com/project-2025-unpopularity-continues-grow-new-poll-1957581.Google Scholar
Waterman, Richard W. 2009. “The Administrative Presidency, Unilateral Power, and the Unitary Executive Theory.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 39 (1): 5–9. www.jstor.org/stable/23044871.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Jordan Blair. 2017. “LGBT Identity and Crime.” California Law Review 105 (3): 667–733. www.jstor.org/stable/44630758.Google Scholar
Woolley, J. T., Peters, G. & University of California, S. B. (1999) The American Presidency Project. Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California.Google Scholar
Wyatt-Nichol, Heather. 2014. “Sexual Orientation and Mental Health: Incremental Progression or Radical Change?” Journal of Health and Human Services Administration 37 (2): 225–41. www.jstor.org/stable/24459694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar